AS work progresses on Blackburn's orbital route, the snarl-ups on town centre roads continue to frustrate motorists and worry traders. No doubt about it, it's a difficult time for everyone at the moment.

The council, however, is adamant that the pain will be worth the gain at the end of the day, and certainly the Church Street scheme has the potential to greatly improve the town centre as long as the council ensures that the traffic flow system ultimately works.

For the moment, the concern of traders centres on the looming battle for Christmas business and they believe the council should acknowledge that the current disruption has hit trade and make amends by initiating free parking across the festive period. The council says that it is already "moving the wheel" with the promise that all roadworks will be suspended in the four weeks leading up to Christmas.

The suspension of work is welcome and should assist town centre shops over the vital Christmas period but, in terms of making up some of the lost ground on trade, more needs to be done.

It's not good enough just to make sure that the roadworks are put on hold, and the council ought to be giving the Chamber of Trade's suggestion a little bit more serious thought than it appears to be doing at present.

Coun Ashley Whalley says the council is supporting traders by organising the Victorian Christmas Experience across three Saturdays and the Christmas lights switch-on. These are steps in the right direction but do they go far enough?

Blackburn town centre needs all the help it can get, and if the council can't afford to offer free parking for a month it ought to at least consider the two weeks leading up to December 25. It will mean a loss of revenue but what's the point of investing huge mounds of cash into town centre regeneration if, in the meantime, we continue to witness retail closures?